BEN RHODES, BARACK OBAMA HARDEST HIT: Khamenei’s Brilliant Failure.

Khamenei has always had an internal struggle between his caution and his audacity. The latter, always encouraged by his beloved Gen. Suleimani, certainly had the high ground the last several years, even after Suleimani’s death. And after the general’s passing, lesser men, like Ismail Qa’ani, attempted to fill the void. The 85-year-old supreme leader is now flailing, unable to give speeches that aren’t immediately dismissed. Unforgivably for an Islamic revolutionary, he misjudged the Jews and he was too clever with the regime’s nuclear ambitions. In retrospect, he should have put aside his concerns about latent American power and pushed the envelope during Biden’s presidency as there was likely nothing there that would have pushed back. If the Islamic Republic had had the bomb on October 6, it’s likely Israeli actions would have been significantly different, perhaps sufficiently different to save Hezbollah, which in turn might have saved Syria.

Failure abroad always sends shock waves home. Khamenei, who has so far never failed to crush all those aligned against him, is now likely obsessed with how his foreign mistakes may embolden his enemies, both foreign and domestic.

If you missed it yesterday: Iran’s Energy Crisis Hits ‘Dire’ Point as Industries Are Forced to Shut Down.